Eirene 10

Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire
SexF
FloruitE IX
Dates811 (tpq) / 826 (taq)
PmbZ No.1443
ReligionIconophile
LocationsLeontes (Convent of the;
Constantinople;
Constantinople (residence)
OccupationNun
TitlesPatrikia (dignity)
Textual SourcesTheodorus Studita, Epistulae, ed. G. Fatouros, CFHB 31.1-2 (Berlin/New York, 1992) (letters)

Eirene 10 was a patrikia, the addressee of eight letters from Theodoros 15 (Theodore the Stoudite), written between 811 and 826: Theod. Stud., Ep. 55, pp. 160-161 (c. 811/815?); Ep. 77, pp. 198-199 (c. 815/818); Ep. 87, pp. 207-209 (c. 815/818); Ep. 156, pp. 276-277 (c. 815/818); Ep. 372, pp. 503-504 (c. 815/818); Ep. 412, pp. 575-576 (c. 818/820?); Ep. 508, pp. 754-755 (c. 821/826); Ep. 526, pp. 784-785 (L 823/826) (all addressed Εἰρήνῃ πατρικίᾳ). Eirene 10 came of noble family from the East (καὶ σὺ ὄντως ἀληθῶς εὐγενής, τῶν ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν ὁρμωμένη: p. 575, lines 7-8): Theod. Stud., Ep. 412, pp. 575-576. She and Theodoros 15 were well acquainted and exchanged correspondence in 811/815; he addressed her as θεοσεβεστάτη κυρία (p. 160, line 9): Theod. Stud., Ep. 55, pp. 160-161. Eirene 10 had a daughter (Anonyma 85): Theod. Stud., Ep. 55, p. 161, line 18; Ep. 87, p. 208, line 29; Ep. 156, p. 277, line 36; Ep. 412, p. 575, line 12. During the persecution under Leo V (Leo 15), Eirene 10 supported the veneration of icons and was praised by Theodoros 15; he alludes to her many past good deeds and numbers her among the confessors; she is described as blessed among the ladies of high rank (μεμακαρισμένη σὺ ἐν ἀρχούσαις: p. 198, line 14); she is addressed as ἐμοὶ μήτηρ προσκυνουμένη (p. 199, line 21): Theod. Stud., Ep. 77, pp. 198-199. She was sent into exile, far away from her home, city, kinsmen and friends, but was with her husband (Anonymus 629) and her daughter (Anonyma 85): Theod. Stud., Ep. 87, Ep. 156. She had been a benefactor of Theodoros 15 in the past and continued to be so during the persecution: Theod. Stud., Ep. 87, Ep. 156. She was a lady of high rank (γυνὴ συγκλητική: p. 208, lines 11-12): Theod. Stud., Ep. 87, cf. Ep. 156 (συγκλητικὴ ἐν μάρτυσιν: p. 276, line 11). She sent gifts to Theodoros 15: Theod. Stud., Ep. 372. However she briefly weakened and gave way to the iconoclast persecutors: Theod. Stud., Ep. 372, pp. 503-504 (c. 815/818). Her lapse caused Theodoros 15 to write to her in sorrow, but she then repented and in consequence suffered beatings, which caused Theodoros 15 to write to her with rejoicing: Theod. Stud., Ep. 412, pp. 575-576. Her daughter, Anonyma 85, died before 820 and Eirene 10 then retired from the world to an island to take up the life of a nun; she bade farewell to Constantinople, her famous family, her high-ranking friends, her splendid household, her high rank (ἀξίᾳ ὑπερφυεστάτῃ: p. 575, line 14), and her crowds of servants and her varied wealth; in spite of being married she is called a bride of Christ by Theodoros 15 (νύμφη Χριστοῦ χρηματίζεις, κἂν ἀπὸ ἀνδρός: p. 576, line 31), and he encouraged her to endure life in exile but not to impose on herself excessive hardships: Theod. Stud., Ep. 412, pp. 575-576 (c. 818/820). In a letter apparently written after she made this decision Theodoros 15 describes her heavenly rank as far superior to the earthly one which she had abandoned (πολλῷ πλέον οὗ κατέλιπες ἐπιγείου ἀξιώματος: p. 276, lines 15-16): Theod. Stud., Ep. 156, pp. 276-277. Between 821 and 826 Eirene 10 sent greetings to Theodoros 15 via a priest; Theodoros 15 replied saying that her husband (Anonymus 629) was blessed by the goodness of his wife and urging her to encourage him to wield his authority as strategos in a wise and just way: Theod. Stud., Ep. 508, pp. 754-755. She was related to Petros 129 (her συγγενοῦς: p. 784, line 4), by whom she sent greetings to Theodoros 15 some time after the end of the revolt of Thomas the Slav (Thomas 7); she was concerned about a convent called "The Leontes" (οἱ Λέοντες: p. 785, line 34), which she wanted to convert from a convent for nuns into a monastery for monks; her late daughter (Anonyma 85) had been hegoumene there and was buried there with other holy souls, and Theodoros 15 told Eirene 10 that it was too late to change; the convent had been abandoned during the recent civil war, but he insisted that it must remain for women: Theod. Stud., Ep. 526, pp. 784-785.

Eirene 10 is styled τῆς ἐμμελείας σου (p. 160, line 7), Theod. Stud., Ep. 55, pp. 160-161; and τῆς τιμιότητός σου, Theod. Stud., Epp. 87, p. 207, line 2, 156, p. 276, line 3. Theodoros 15 also called Eirene 10 his spiritual mother (ὡς μητρί μου πνευματικῇ: p. 207, line 4): Theod. Stud., Ep. 87, pp. 207-209. She is addressed as δέσποινά μου αἰδέσιμε (p. 208, lines 21-22), Theod. Stud., Ep. 87, pp. 207-209; ἀδελφομήτηρ (p. 277, line 47), Ep. 156, pp. 276=277; ὦ φιλόθεε καὶ φιλομόναχε or similar, Ep. 372, p. 503, line 2; Ep. 508, p. 754, lines 5-6; ἀνδρειοτάτη ἐν γυναιξίν (p. 575, line 5), Ep. 412, pp. 575-576; ὦ καλλίγυναι, ὦ φιλομάρτυς καί, τὸ τρίτον, ὦ μῆτερ ἐμή (p. 575, lines 25-26), Ep. 412, pp. 575-576; and as κυρία, Epp. 55, p. 160, line 9; 87, p. 207, line 2; 372, p. 504, line 12; 508, p. 754, line 2; 526, p. 784, line 3.

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